Lobbying spending in New York dips to lowest in 5 years

Expenses cool under Cuomo; Altria tops pack

5:49 AM,
Oct. 16, 2013

Written by

Joseph Spector
| Journal Albany bureau

About $105 million was spent on lobbying in the first six months of the year, the lowest in five years, a report Tuesday found.

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics said the spending dipped but the lobbyists themselves made nearly the same. Lobbying hit a high of $131 million in 2011, Gov. Andrew Cuomo's first year in office. But it has dropped 19 percent since then, the commission said.

Bill Mahoney, a researcher at New York Public Interest Research Group, said Cuomo's influence over the budget process has cooled lobbying expenses. ...